Keep It Burning

  Reanna slowly lowered herself to her knees and tried to pray. She really wanted to pray, she really needed to pray, but she was completely without words. It had been a bad week. It had been a bad year. Her scarred heart pumped  without joy or hope. She looked up at the altar and her eyes focused on the burning candle. She studied the flame. It was beautiful. She remembered younger days when the Light of Christ was easier for her to carry. She again struggled to find words to pray, and then she whispered just two, “Help me.”

  She closed her eyes and watched the light of her own candle become very, very small. She convinced herself that her trials were too strong. She had nothing left to give. She was done. 

  She was almost completely in the dark when she noticed another light coming towards her. The light joined Reanna’s and it became brighter. Then she saw lights from many other directions coming towards her and uniting to her candle. Her flame became incredibly bright. Reanna was amazed. She didn’t understand what was going on. 

  Then she heard a voice say, “You heard our voices when we cried for help. We are here to help you keep your light burning bright.”

  “Who are you?”

  “We are the holy souls you helped. Your prayers helped us in Purgatory, and now we reside in the eternal glory of God. We are forever grateful. Do not give into despair. Trust that God knows what is best for your soul. Don’t long for happiness. Aim higher—go for holy. If you obtain holiness you will be eternally happy."

  Reanna allowed a wave of peace to flow through her. After a few minutes she opened her eyes. Her heart was still scarred, her problems had not disappeared, but she could feel the Light of Christ burning within her. She was ready to begin again. 

-Susan 

Brighter Days

 The group of people gathered around the fire. The flames were warm and inviting.  The chill each of them had felt during the day had been chased away. Here they felt loved.  The power of the Spirit ignited desires to grow closer to God.  A small voice echoed through the cracklings of the fire. “Come and see where I abide. Draw closer to Me.”
 “Yes, let’s draw closer to God,” they agreed. “We have witnessed others carrying His Light.  We long for this as well.  Tomorrow.  Our journey will begin tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a great day!”  Eager and excited they returned to their lodgings.  
 Night came and darkness followed. The group individually heard other sounds. An annoying buzzing of self doubt slowly crawled through the camp.  “Why would God want to draw close to you?”  Followed by false whispers, “It will be too hard for you. You really don’t have the time for this. Quick get up there is something better down the road.”
 Unfortunately, some listened to the darkness and left the Light behind-- but not all. When morning came a few stepped out and saw the flame still burning brightly before them. “Yes, we are coming!” They stepped onto the path illuminated before them. 
 When they reached their destination, they heard His familiar  voice, “Welcome my friends, Mass is about to begin.  I am so happy you came!”  God hugged each and every one of them at Mass. He loved being so close to their hearts. Softly, He allowed His words to gently caress their ears, “I love you. I always will.  Remember to stay close to My Light so the sounds of the night do not confuse you.”

-Susan

Praise the Lord!

 Nick tossed and turned in bed.  He couldn’t get back to sleep again.  He looked at the clock across the room.  It was 3:00 am.  He didn’t even know what had woken him, but once again he found himself awake when he should have been sleeping.  The more he thought about sleeping, the more awake he seemed to become. After 45 minutes of trying to fall back asleep, he decided to try praying. 
 Nick was no stranger to prayer.  In fact, he dedicated time  every day to praying with God.  Lately, though, he found himself distracted and depressed.   He always seemed to find his thoughts wandering back to his good friend Russell.  Russell had been killed in a motorcycle accident 8 weeks ago.  When Nick heard the news, he felt as if someone had just kicked him in the gut, leaving him painfully wounded. 
    Nick tried to imagine what heaven might be like for Russell. He just couldn’t picture it. First of all, Russell was just a soul.  No body.  What was that like? Secondly, he couldn’t imagine Russell just singing praises day and night.  Russell was a good guy, but he also loved adventure. Would heaven be too boring for him?  Nick looked at the clock again.  It was 3:55 am.  Nick tried to imagine what heaven could be like—and that’s when it happened.  
 Nick clearly heard a voice in his mind, “Come, let me show you.” Nick did not “see” anyone, yet he felt a “presence”.  Nick rose from his bed quickly, at least part of him did.  Only Nick’s soul followed the voice. An instant later Nick found himself soaring over an ocean. Without speaking words, Nick knew to follow the voice’s instructions. 
 Together they were diving towards the ocean at an incredible speed, and just before hitting the water they leveled out. Nick was “flying” an inch above the water. It was incredible!  He was moving so fast, yet he noticed everything. The water was a deep sapphire blue. It was so clear, he could see to the bottom, and all the exotic fish swimming at the different depths. Large, colorful birds flew above and next to him.  The wind rushed by as cool sprays from the waves crashed just beneath him.  Nick could hear voices singing, “Praise the Lord!” and Nick began singing as well!  He could feel God’s love growing inside him, filling him completely.  He had never experienced anything like this before!  It was exhilarating!  He never felt so alive in his life!   Nick was so aware of the goodness of God!  It was so clear, so obvious, so amazing!  He sang louder and louder as joy consumed him. He was laughing and singing and crying all at the same time!
 Then without warning, the voice said, "It's time to return."
 Nick pleaded, “Please let me stay here. I never want to leave!  Please, please let me sing more praises to God!"
 “I’m sorry,” said the voice.  “It is not your time yet.”  In an instant, Nick could feel his pillow under his head, his blanket across his body. His body. He had a body again.  Nick looked across the darkened room to his alarm clock. It was 3:56 am. Only a minute had gone by. Nick smiled as he realized that one minute in eternity completely surpassed all the minutes he had experienced during his lifetime. He thought about his good friend Russell and smiled.  Nick knew that Russell was experiencing the most incredible adventure ever!  Nick knew without any doubts that Russell was completely happy and completely loved.  
 Just before falling asleep, Nick heard that incredible song in his head.  He fell asleep singing, “Praise the Lord!”

-Susan

Holy Trinity

  Yesterday we celebrated the Feast of the Holy Trinity. Every time we pray we begin with our belief in the Holy Trinity—"In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit." The sign of the cross is easy to do, but wrapping your head around the mystery of the Holy Trinity is not. To be honest, I’m ok with not being able to comprehend the depth of this mystery, because just scratching the surface of this relationship of love is so incredible to me. I don’t have to understand it completely, I just want to be completely a part of it. 

  St. Thomas tells us that the “Holy Spirit, Himself is Love.” The Holy Spirit is the love the Father and Son share for each other.  The Trinity is the most powerful example of love, and  is often symbolized as a triangle. (The triangle is structurally the strongest geometrical shape.)  It is this amazing, powerful love that God shares with each of us. It's okay that we don’t completely comprehend three persons in One God, we merely need to be open to placing ourselves in the midst of this triangle of love. We then need to love others the way God does. As we invite others to experience God's love, we build the Kingdom. 

  I like to imagine that each of us is a triangle in the Kingdom.  Each of us is surrounded by the love of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  We are bonded one to another in this Kingdom of Love. A Kingdom so strong, no power of evil could destroy it. The Kingdom is not waiting until the end of time to be built, it is only waiting for you to begin each day of your life “In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

-Susan